What have you done to your XS today?

slowly getting these number plates mounted. we'll, I guess they're just plates for now until I find some numbers
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Cleaned and rebuilt the carbs. I swear I don't have OCD, I just like to be organized :)

yMDYsI6.jpg

excellent !....... I was just beginning to wonder if It was only me that was OCD and then up pops another !

yesterday I was making 2x good sets of carbs out of 3 sets and thought I'd take a piccy but its not as good as yours
XS650 1976-77 BS38 Carburettor Exploded parts.JPG
 
Finally got to ride the thing!

Well, not today but a few days ago. I bought an imported '82 SJ in September and spent the winter months getting it roadworthy and making a few little changes. On Wednesday last week, it went in for its MOT test in readiness for getting registered, so I finally got to ride it, to and from the shop in Bath that did the MOT, about a 25-mile round trip.

Wednesday morning - got on the 2011 Ducati Multistrada that's my normal road bike and rode the 5 miles to the garage where I keep the XS650. Get one bike out, put the other in, start her up - first kick :eek:) A few mins of warming and off we go ....

First impressions: small, low and light compared to the Ducati, felling somewhat sat on rather than in, but with a VERY comfortable (if ugly) seat. Surprisingly smooth for a parallel twin. Feel on the road was really solid - I feared it was going to be a bit skittery, but good feedback from the front, and solid at the back - neutral, good handling. This is what I was hoping for; rebuilt the forks with Minton mods + 1/2" extra preload (a stack of 25mm washers) and preload set to max, taper roller head bearings, needle roller swinging arm and 340mm Hagon adjustable shocks set on the stiff side. BT45 tyres feel nicely attached to the road.
Front brake leaves plenty to be desired so a smaller bore m/c is on the shopping list, but the rear drum is fine, with good feel.
Footpegs are too far forward, I like my feet under my bum so I'll look out for rear sets, same as I did on my old Commando for the same reason.

On the downside, the big issue is that neutral is virtually impossible to find when stationary with the motor running, and not that easy when on the move. I've been careful to adjust the clutch correctly, cleaned and greased the worm, new lubed-up cable etc. so I guess I'll have to have the clutch cover off and start poking around in there to work out WTF is wrong come oil change time.

I haven't touched the motor yet except to set the valve clearances and fit a Heiden Tuning oil filter; there's a weep at the head/barrel so I know I'll have it apart at some point but it doesn't seem to affect compression and I want to ride a while first. The PO left it with the correct amount of new oil, so I figure I'll run it for a couple of hundred miles and then change (and carefully inspect!) the oil, replace the sump filter (Heiden Tuning again) and fart about with the clutch & gear selection at that point.

Am I a lot poorer than I thought I might be? Errrrr .... yup. More than I'd admit to the wife. By a country mile. Am I happy? Damned right I am. I've enjoyed getting my hands dirty again, It's fun to ride and I have many more changes planned ... it's going to be a long and enjoyable journey! And today I sent the form and documents to the DVLA to get her registered so I'll be properly on the road soon.

Work in progress

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Installed rebuilt fork this morning and put new badges on tank and side covers. I think I've worked on this bike much as I'm going to (for now).

After looking at Nighthog's Hagon shock setup (previous post)
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vs. mine I'm wondering if there's a wrong way to install these (upside down) and what the effect is. When I put mine on I assumed the Hagon sticker should be right reading. The stickers could have been put on upside down, too. Just wondering.

JR
 
Got most of the wiring finished on the right harness today. But my brake light works when I hit the pedal, not lit while the bike is running? Also, my front brake switch won't turn on the brake light when I hit it. I'm thinking it has something to do with the R/O wire coming from the ignition switch, I don't have another R/O wire to hook it up to. Diagram says it goes from the Headlamp switch to the main switch. But their isn't a wire to connect it to.
 
3302BCBA-31AE-4CC8-91B0-8D1C2EEAACEC.jpeg 25D5CA21-ADF7-4D1A-8233-C6BB004E1233.jpeg 1F6DD028-EAD9-4CC8-B0E6-E1AF7FCDC8E4.jpeg 9D687A1B-A828-4247-9D6F-EA8AAD46A084.jpeg E4D57294-0D2E-47D6-8B68-3D99FB7FEBA9.jpeg Made some brackets to mount a single triumph seat today for fun. Also experimenting with some paint ideas while I prep the tank. Lots of surface rust spots but no dents :) side covered are cracked and scuffed and missing badge. I’ll probably just end up with a solid colour and get new badges. Thinking of the roundish tank badge made for “Specials” by mikes. Anyone got those? You like em?

Also, i noticed my right tank badge bracket seems to have been welded on a bit crooked compared to the left. Half a bubble off one another. Lol.

I thought about filling in the badge area with bondo so I can paint some graphics on the tank, but I figure I would just make a royal mess of it ;)

Happy that spring is finally here!!!! G.
 
Also, i noticed my right tank badge bracket seems to have been welded on a bit crooked compared to the left. Half a bubble off one another. Lol.
Those tabs can be 'tweaked" up and down.... 'slightly.' Rest a piece of wood against the side of the tank and use a hammer to tap up or down slightly.
 
They are... they're spot welded. Don't tap 'em at the weld!!!
Tap 'em out at the tip... where the screw hole are...
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Black arrow is spot weld. Tap up or down at red arrow. Not much.... about a 1/32" is all you can get. Might not take out a half a bubble... but will get you a lot closer.
 
excellent !....... I was just beginning to wonder if It was only me that was OCD and then up pops another !

yesterday I was making 2x good sets of carbs out of 3 sets and thought I'd take a piccy but its not as good as yours View attachment 117595

Very Nice! But dang! Now I have to get me serving tray! :laugh2:
 
Very nice, both yours and JR's, and I see you have the oil filter conversion too.

As comfy as the seat is, I still want to remodel it a bit. I only ever ride solo, and for me the rear of the seat is a disaster, but I'll have to be careful not to lose the comfort when I flatten the seat, ditch the grab rail and fit an LED tail light. There's always something to do, isn't there?
 
rear of the seat is a disaster
Yes, I seem to be alone in regarding the seat's shape to be attractive..:D...Its sort of an 80's mini king and queen thing.
And I really miss my early 80's Chevy Conversion van. It had a moon roof and blue shag carpetting covering every inch. Looked kinda like this:
images

I hope your re-shaping goes well. I'll be looking for a pic when its done.
 
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